1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of remote control systems and devices, and more particularly, to methods and apparatuses for providing a User Interface (UI) in accordance with an environment or condition of a Remote Controller (RC).
2. Description of the Related Art
Various organizations, such as Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), Home Audio-Video Interoperability (HAVI), and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), have made developments in technology areas relating to interoperable devices and services in a home networking field.
One developing technology area in the home networking field is Remote UI (RUI), which allows one device to control the functions of another device in a home network. RUI is based on a client-server architecture in which an RUI Client (RUIC) is provided with a UI and is served by an RUI Server (RUIS). The UI allows a user to remotely control the RUIC through the RC.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating operations of a conventional home network, having an RUIC 101, an RUIS 100, and an RC 102. The RUIS 100 first provides the RUIC 101 with its RUI. Functions of the RUIC 101, rendered by the RUI, are mapped to keys of the RC 102. This mapping allows the RC 102 to send control information to the RUIC 101 to control the RUIC 101.
As mobility has recently become more important to users, a new RUI device, or RC, such as a portable or mobile device, has been developed with an enhanced UI display. The control interface of the new RC is customizable, and is capable of providing device-specific control information or user-specific supplementary information for different RCs. Specifically, the new RC can be configured to provide information related to control of a current RUI rendered in the RUIC 101, or to provide user-specific information, such as personalized control information. The new RC is also capable of accommodating control information uniquely provided by the manufacturers of the RUIS 100 and the RUIC 101.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating remote control service of a home network when an RC moves from an indoor space to an outdoor space. An RUIS, or Service Provider (SP) 200, provides content and content-specific CUIs for controlling the content and operations of an RUIC, or a Home Network Device (HND). The home network may include multiple HNDs, such as a television (TV) 201. The home network of FIG. 2 also includes a home Gateway (GW) 203 for receiving service programs and/or commands from the SP 200 via a backbone network. The home GW 203 delivers the CUIs to the TV 201. The TV 201 sends the CUIs to an RC 202. The RC 202 controls the TV 201 and the content playing on the TV 201 with the CUIs.
When a user carries the RC 202 to an outdoor space, the RC 202 is able to maintain its connection to the home network using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). The VPN provides a virtual tunnel connection between the RC 202 and the home network. Controlling the TV 201 from the outdoor space is likely to be inconvenient due to the fact that a screen of the TV 201 is not visible to the user. Specifically, the user is unable to check an operation status of the TV 201 from the outdoor space when using the RC 202 to control the TV 201. Further, due to the mobile characteristics of the RC 202, the RC 202 is required to process and maintain the VPN connection in the outdoor space, which is not cost-effective.